Helen Forrest

Swing Music Vocalist

Female

BornApr 12, 1917

Helen Forrest was one of the most popular female vocalists during America's big band Swing Era. During her career, Forrest served as the "girl singer" for three of the most popular bands of the big band swing era, thus earning the reputation as "the voice of the name bands."… Read More

related links

News + Updates

'<mark>Helen Forrest</mark> and grandchildren Ruby and Lucas Smith are sick of getting bad television reception or none at all at their Kandanga home. FRUSTRATING to say the least is the way <mark>Helen Forrest</mark> describes watching television these days'

'She was preceded in death by her husband, James B. Leonard; a son, William F. Leonard; her parents, Charles P. and Henrietta Starlin Forrest; and her siblings, Dr. David Forrest, Donald Forrest, <mark>Helen Forrest</mark> Stadlman and Ann Forrest Easton'

Timeline

Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Helen Forrest.

CHILDHOOD

1917Birth
She was born Helen Fogel to a Jewish family in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 12, 1917.
… Read More

After singing for WNEW and WCBS in New York, Helen began singing at the Washington Madrillon Club, in Washington, D.C. <br /><br /> After seeing Forrest in Washington, D.C., bandleader Artie Shaw asked Helen to go on tour with him. Shaw was looking for new talent when vocalist Billie Holiday had to leave the band after singing with the group for a short period of time. Helen was hired in 1938. She recorded 38 singles with Shaw's band. Two of her biggest hits with Shaw were the songs "They Say" and "All the Things You Are." Read Less

TWENTIES

193922 Years Old
In late 1939, Forrest left Shaw and joined Benny Goodman, with whom she recorded a number of celebrated songs, including the hit song "The Man I Love."
… Read More

She told the Pop Chronicles radio series: "Benny would look right above your eyebrows, in the middle, right on top of the brow. He was a very strange man." Read Less

194023 Years Old
She recorded with Nat King Cole and Lionel Hampton in 1940.

It was with the Harry James Orchestra that she recorded what are arguably her most popular numbers, including "I Had the Craziest Dream" in 1942 and "I Don't Want to Walk Without You."
… Read More

Forrest also dated James, until he met the woman he would later marry, Betty Grable. Read Less

Because of her involvement with three of the most popular bands of the big band swing era, Forrest was known as "the voice of the name bands." In 1942, Helen Forrest was voted the top female performer in the nation.

194326 Years Old
Forrest left Harry James in late 1943 in pursuit of a solo career.

It was with Haymes that she recorded the song, "Some Sunday Morning." Read Less

In 1944, she made an appearance in the Esther Williams movie Bathing Beauty with Harry James and his orchestra.
… Read More

After a dip in recording in the 1950s, including a stint with the startup Bell Records, Forrest sang with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, led by Sam Donahue in the early 1960s. She continued to sing in supper clubs in the 1970s and 1980s. Her final album was released in 1983.<br /><br /> She kept singing until the early 1990s when rheumatoid arthritis began to affect her vocal cords and forced her into retirement. Over the course of her career, she recorded more than 500 songs. Read Less

Forrest acted in several musical films, including Bathing Beauty and Two Girls and a Sailor, which were both released in 1944.
… Read More

Despite an unhappy childhood, frequent illness, and personal disappointments, Forrest remained dedicated to her musical profession until the early 1990s.<br /><br /> Forrest married and divorced three times, and had one son, Michael Forrest Feinman, who currently resides in Lancaster, California. Read Less

LATE ADULTHOOD

199982 Years Old
Helen Forrest died on July 11, 1999 from congestive heart failure at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
… Read More

She was 82. Her final resting place is in Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Read Less